The Discussion Forums page contains links to the Class Introductions and the weekly discussion questions for each topic. To access this page, select Discussion Forums from the list of options on the left side of your classroom.

Once there, all available discussion questions for the class will be visible. The Class Introduction forum is a place to post a short bio, and the discussion questions are for participation in class discussions. The questions are listed in order and are labeled with their appropriate topic designation and start date. The Unread Posts and Total Posts columns are useful for determining if there are new posts to read and respond to.

For information on how to respond to Discussion Forum posts, check out the article: (Halo | Learn) Discussion Forums.

The Class Questions section serves as an open forum to ask questions that anyone in the class can answer. If you’re used to attending in-person classes, this is the online equivalent to raising your hand and asking a question out-loud.

To access this page, select Class Questions from the list of options on the left side of your classroom.

For an in-depth overview of how to use the Class Questions feature, check out the article: (Halo | Learn) Class Questions.

The Messages view serves as a communication channel between you and all of your instructors. From the Messages view, you can send private messages to any instructor that you currently have a class with.

Start by locating and clicking the Messages icon in the upper left corner of Halo.

Once inside the Messages view, your current instructors’ names will appear in a list on the left. Select any of their names in order to start a message.

Type your message in the box below. If needed, you can also attach a file by selecting the paperclip icon beneath the textbox. Once you’re ready, click Send.

The message will appear above with a date and time stamp. There is no way to edit a message once it’s been sent, but you can hide the post and make a new one. To hide a post, click the eye icon on the upper right of the message box. The post will then turn grey. Your instructor will be able to see that a message was sent at that date and time but will not be able to read the message itself. To unhide the post, simply click the eye icon again. 

Once your instructor responds, you’ll be notified via the Messages icon. A number will appear to indicate how many new messages you have received. Click the icon to be taken back to your Inbox at any time.

Depending on your alert settings, you will receive an alert through the Alerts bell icon in the top right corner of your classroom. Clicking the icon will open the My Alerts window, where you can easily find and navigate to your message.

If you have enabled notifications on your Halo Learn mobile app for private messages, you will also receive alerts there. For more information on how to manage your alert settings, check out the (Halo | Learn) Managing Settings article.

The Announcements page contains posts made by the instructor that may include class requirements and important class updates. Click Announcements from the left side of your class to access these posts.

Depending on your alert settings, when a new announcement is posted, you will receive an alert through the Alerts bell icon in the top right corner of your classroom. Clicking the icon will open the My Alerts window, where you can easily find and navigate to your message.

If you have enabled notifications on your Halo Learn mobile app for private messages, you will also receive alerts there. For more information on how to manage your alert settings, check out the (Halo | Learn) Managing Settings article.

You can read any announcement directly on this page. Once you have read the announcement press Acknowledge.

Some courses include group assignments. If your course includes a group assignment, your instructor will split the class into groups. Once your instructor has placed you in a group, you will gain access to a team-specific forum for you to discuss and collaborate on the assignment. This group can be accessed from the Assignment Details page by clicking Go to Group, or by selecting Groups from the navigation menu on the left side of the classroom.

When copying and pasting into the Halo Text Editor from Microsoft Word you may encounter a pop-up asking how you would like it formatted.

Selecting Basic formatting will remove Word-specific formatting, including text color, font, and alignment. Instead, it will paste only the plain text with the same formatting as what you are currently using in the text box, maintaining consistency with the rest of your text.

Selecting Formatted will paste the text while preserving the formatting it has in Word.

The discussion question textbox has a built-in spell checker that you can utilize to ensure your spelling is accurate. The text editor will automatically check for spelling as you type, but there is a short delay. If the text editor detects a misspelled word, it will underline it with a red zig zag.

Hyperlinks will allow you to add a clickable link to an external website or to a library page.

1. To create a hyperlink, highlight the text that you would want to become clickable. Then, click on the Hyperlink button.
   
2. Click Add Link.
   
3. A popup will appear that you can add a URL and text to display. Paste your link into the URL field. The text to display field should automatically fill with the highlighted text; if you change this field, it will change the text in your post.
   
4. Select Insert Link and the hyperlink will be added to your response.
   

You can format your responses in multiple different ways such as adding bolded text, italicized text, underlined text, strikethrough your text , ^{superscripted text}, and _{subscripted text}.

NOTE To stop typing with an active format, select the Clear Formatting icon. This button will also remove formatting from highlighted text.

• To bold, italicize, or underline your text, select the appropriate button on the text box before writing your text. You can also highlight your text and select your formatting after you've typed
  
  
  NOTE You can also use the following keyboard shortcuts to Bold, Italicize, and Underline your text:

  	Windows	Mac
  Bold:	CTRL+B	CMD+B
  Italicize:	CTRL+I	CMD+I
  Underline:	CTRL+U	CMD+U

• To strikethrough , ^superscript, or _subscript your text, open the Format tab, select Font Effects, then select whether you want your text formatted with a strikethrough or as Subscript or Superscript
  
• If you would like to change the alignment of your text, select the alignment icon, and select the type of alignment that you want to use. You can select either align left, right, center, or justify.
  
• If you would like to separate parts of your response with a horizontal line, select the Insert tab, then select Horizontal Line.
  

Halo’s textbox gives you the ability to add lists into your responses. To create a list, select either the Numbered List or Bullet List icon.

If you highlight a passage of text then select a list formatting option, a bullet/number will be added before each line break.

If you want to move to the next line without moving to the next step, you can hold the Shift key while pressing the Enter key.

Halo also has built-in special characters that you can enter into your responses. To enter a special character, select the Insert Special Character icon

A menu will appear with all the available special characters. You can filter characters by category or search for a specific character by name. Once you’ve found the correct character, select it to insert it.

Emojis can also be added into your responses by using the Insert Emoji icon, however, emojis are generally deemed unprofessional for academic writing.

1. To add a table, click on the Table tab in the toolbar, then select Insert Table to open the table options.
   
2. You’ll see a grid that you can use to select the number of columns and rows that you want to be added.
   
3. Once you select the size of the table, your table will be added to the response.
   

There might be a time where you want to embed images or other forms of media into your responses. To add images or other media resources to your responses, check out the appropriate section below.